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S olongasabusi- nessarmsitself withclear-cutob- jectivesand plentyofinitia- tive,theChinese marketisn’tatoughoneto crack,accordingtoLiam Casey,founderandchiefex- ecutiveofPCHInternational, thelargestIrishexporterin China. EnterpriseIreland’snewly appointedstart-upambassa- dorfortheGreaterChinare- gionsetupPCHinCorkin 1996.Thecompanyisnowa leaderinaccessoriesfor‘post- PCera’products,suchasta- blets,e-readersandsmart- phones. Itexportsproductstomore than60countriesfromitsop- erationalheadquartersin Shenzhen,justnorthofHong Kong.Itscorporateheadquar- tersareinCork. Thebusinessbeganbyship- pingcomponentssourcedin Chinaaroundtheworld.‘‘At thestart,Chinawasaplace wherewecouldmakecheap products,butthatchanged, andit’snowacheapplaceto makebetterproducts,’’said Casey. AccordingtoCasey,theex- pertise,knowledgeandecosys- temofproductionthatexisted inChinamadeittheidealbase forthecompany.‘‘Arethere cheaperplacestolocateabusi- nessnow?Probably,yes.But whenitcomestobringinga qualityconsumerproductto retail,Ithinkitwouldbevery hardtofindanywherethat couldcompete.’’ PCHsetupinChinain 2003.‘‘Werealisedthatifwe reallywereseriousaboutChi- na,weneededtomoveour- selvesupthevaluechain.It’s nolongeralow-costlocation forus,andwedecidedwe neededtostoptreatingitlike that,’’saidCasey.‘‘So,would wejuststaytrading?We decidedtosetupourownfacil- ities,changingourbusiness modelintheprocess.Webuilt upahugecompetitiveadvan- tageinashortspaceoftime.’’ Thecompany’sChinese workforcehasgrownfrom30 peoplein2003to1,000today. ‘‘Weexpandedveryquickly afteropening,’’saidCasey. ThoseemployedinChina workindesign,packagingand orderfulfilment. ‘‘Theadditionofvaluestems frompackaging.Thereisno pointinusdoingthemanufac- turingourselves.Thereisan over-supplyhereasitis.While wedon’tdoanyofthephysical manufacturing,ourquality controlisbuiltintoourfac- toriesthemselvesandwetake greatcareinselectingthebest manufacturingpartners,’’he said. PCHworkswithhundreds ofChinesemanufacturersthat havebeenauditedtoamini- mumISO9001:2000standard. Specialitysuppliersareclo- selymonitored,andtheirsuit- abilityasaPCHsupplieris monitoredonanongoingbasis. ‘‘Wesetupaservicelastyear, acquiringadistributioncom- panyinDublintolookafter ourEuropeandistribution,re- plicatingbusinessintoAsia,’’ saidCasey. ThedealwithTNSDistribu- tionlastJunewasreportedto beworthupto e 21million. Theacquisitionisthefirststep towardsestablishingIrelandas adistributionhubforPCH. TNSopenednewofficesin SydneyandSingaporeinearly March,andisnowrollingout customersupportandwar- rantyservicesforvendorsin theregion. PCHitselfopenedanoffice intheKoreancapitalSeoullast year.Caseysaidthemove strengthenedthecompany’s positionineastAsia. ChinahasgivenPCHinter- nationallyaffordableproduc- tivityanddeliveredstrong financialresults.‘‘Wehave grownhugely^fromturnover oftensofmillionstohundreds ofmillions^sincebeginning,’’ saidCasey. ‘‘Wedon’thavelastyear’s figuresyet,buttheyearbefore lastourturnoverwas$410mil- lion( e 307million),upfrom $150millionin2009( e 112mil- lion).In2003,ourturnoverwas $30million( e 22million).’’ LastFebruary,PCHsecured twonewprivateequityshare- holders^TrianglePeakPart- ners,aCalifornianprivate equityfirmwithafocuson technologyandenergy,and USinvestmentfirmCross CreekCapital. Togetherwithexistinginves- tors,PCHsecuredVCfunding ofUS$26million( e 19million) lastFebruary.‘‘Wearesatisfied intheconfidenceofourinves- tors^thecapitalisusedto fundgrowthandexpansion, withincreasedfocusonthedo- mesticChinamarket,’’said Casey. Afewmonthslater,inNo- vember,PCHclosedanother VCfundingroundworthabout US$30million( e 22million). InvestorsincludedNorth- brooksInvestments,asubsidi- aryofTemasekHoldings,and USventurecapitalistJChris- topherBurch. PCHhasbeguntosellto Chinesecompanies.It launchedPCHChinaDirect lastyear.BasedinShenzhen, theventurehasalicencefor domestictrading.Itcantrade inlocalcurrency,meaningthat productscanbebought,sold andshippeddomestically. ‘‘Theylooktousasaroute toglobalmarkets,’’saidCasey. LiamCasey,founderandchiefexecutive,PCHInternational:thecompanyexportsproductstomorethan60countriesfromShenzhen SIMONBERTRAND PCH,thelargestIrishexporterto China,setupinthecountryin 2003^andhasn’tlookedback since,writes Siobha ¤ nBrett China 2012 Howtomakethatleap I rishcompanieshead- ingtodobusinessin Chinaneedtotakeac- countofbusiness,cul- tural,legalandother differences.Doingbusiness inChinaiscompletelydif- ferentfromdoingbusiness inIreland,oranywhereelse intheWest,requiringacon- siderableinvestmentin buildinguprelationships. Opportunity Thereisnodoubtabout thescaleoftheopportunity. Asiaissettobecomethe world’slargesttradingre- gionby2015andChinais likelytobecometheworld’s largesttradingnation,ac- cordingtoarecentreport byCitigroup. ThemiddleclassinChina isforecasttogrowto700 millionpeopleby2020,ac- cordingtoWilliamLeung,a solicitorintheHongKong practiceofIrishlawfirm Eversheds. ‘‘Combinedwithrising wages,thiswouldmakeit theworld’slargestconsumer base,andonethatanyIrish companycannotignore.I thinkthereareparticular opportunitiesforagri-busi- nessesandhigh-endconsu- merfoodanddrinks products,aswellasother luxurygoods,’’hesaid. EnterpriseIrelandhas alsoidentifiedmedicalde- vices,wasteproducts,con- structionandeducation servicesassourcesofoppor- tunity.Technologyisseenas anotherkeyareaofopportu- nity,withbigAsiancompa- niessettodominatelarge partsoftheworldmarketin yearstocome. Legalissues Fromalegalperspective, thereisanumberofissues thatcompaniesshouldbe awareof,accordingto Leung.Companiesneedto takeaccountoflabourlaws inChinawhensendingtheir employeesthere,aswellas therightsandentitlements ofChineseworkersthatthey mayemploy. Intellectualpropertyand e-commerce-relatedlegisla- tion,taxation,andproduct liabilityandfoodsafetylaws areamongthemanyother issuescompaniesneedassis- tancewith. Cultural considerations VictorHuang,whoad- visesbusinessesthroughhis companyChinaOpportu- nitieshasoutlinedsometips forIrishentrepreneurs. First,bringplentyofbusi- nesscards,makingsurethat onesideisinEnglishandthe otherinChinese.Include yourprofessionaltitleifyou areseniorenoughtomake decisions. Whenexchangingcards, presentyourswithboth hands,withtheChinese writingfacingtherecipient. Whenreceivingabusiness card,makeashowofread- ingitcarefullybeforeput- tingitaway. InChina,‘‘courtesyde- mandsreciprocity’’,andone ofthemaincharacteristics ofChinesereciprocityis gift-giving.Welcomegifts includeIrishwhiskey,books aboutIrelandorother clearlyIrishitems. Chinesebusinessprotocol requirespeopletoentera meetingroominhierarchi- calorder.TheChinesewill assumethatthefirstforeign- ertoentertheroomishead ofthedelegation.Onlyse- niormembersofthegroup areexpectedtoleaddiscus- sions. Building relationships ForeignersinChinamust understandthesystemof guanxi,theChinesewayof doingbusinessthroughper- sonalrelationships. Ratherthanbusiness leadingtofriendship,the Chinesebelievethatfriend- shipisanecessaryprecursor tobusiness.InChineseso- ciety,peoplewilldobusiness withtheirfamilyandfriends first. Theinevitablebarriers andproblemsencountered inChinaareminimised whenyouhavetheright guanxinetworkworkingfor you. EnterpriseIrelandhasde- scribedthissystemasabusi- nesspersonoperatingwithin variousconcentriccircles, withtheclosestandmost trustedassociatesonthein- side.Makingabusiness agreementinChinaisthus notthestraightforwardpro- cessthatitisintheWest. HongKong entry-point Settingupanofficeonthe groundinChinaisamuch moreexpensiveundertaking thanitwasjustafewyears ago.AccordingtoLeungof Eversheds,agoodstarting pointformanyfirmsistoin- corporateinHongKongin- stead. ‘‘WhenenteringtheChi- nesemarket,it’svitaltohave anappropriatebusinessve- hicleattheoutsettomanage theriskelement.Manyfor- eigninvestorswillsetupa HongKongcorporateentity first,thenhavejointven- tureswithChineseinvest- mentpartners,’’he explained. Makingfriends isthebestway todobusiness WilliamLeung ‘‘Whenyou’recominginto China,youhavegotto haveabsoluteclarityasto whatitisyouwanttodo. Absoluteclarity.’’Thatis theadvicefromLiam Casey,founderandchief executiveofPCH International. ‘‘Chinaisacost- effectiveplacetomake products,butit’salsogota rapidlygrowingmiddle- classmarkettosellto–do notattempttodobothof thosethings,’’saidCasey. ‘‘Separatethem,treat themastwodifferentand distinctchallenges.Donot getthemmixedup.That’s somethingI’malwayskeen togetacrosstopeople. Don’ttrytodoeverything atonce.Youhavegottobe awareofthesheersizeof China,andgeographic reachisonlythestart.’’ CaseysaidthatIrish exportersoperatingin certainsectorswere particularlywellsuitedto theChinesemarket.‘‘I’d saypharmaceutical, agribusinessandcertainly food,’’hesaid.‘‘That’sa majorsourceofconcern fortheChinese governmentoflate–how aretheygoingtofeeda populationwithhigh qualitysustainablefood? Irelanddoesthat,and thereisnoreasonwhywe can’tdoitforChina. ‘‘Ifyouareserious aboutdoingbusinessin China,you’vegottostick withit.But,youdon’t actuallyneedalotof customersheretogrowbig businessfast.Thereare fantasticopportunitiesto importintoChina,solong asyouarefocused.’’ Therecentvisitto IrelandbyXiJinping, vice-presidentofChina, wasa‘‘reallybigdeal’’, saidCasey. ‘‘It’sextremely significantandimportant thatheoptedtogoto Ireland,andIthinkmost peopleunderstandthat.To havelastweek’strade missionfollowthevisitso closelyincreasesthe relevanceandefficacyof thetripforthe90 businessespresent,Ihave nodoubt.’’ Caseypraisedtheties beingdevelopedbetween ChinaandIreland,but warnedthatnomatterhow closelythetwowere linked,orhowadvanced andhelpfulexportsupport was,businessesneededto beawareofthehardwork thatwasrequiredofthem –withoutwhichagood tradingrelationshipand alltheadviceand assistanceintheworld wouldamounttonothing. ‘‘Wehaveaverygood ambassadorinBeijing, workinghardtobuildup ‘BrandIreland’,’’said Casey,‘‘butbusinesses needtorememberthat externalsupportcanonly dosomuch.For introductions,information andtradeguidelines,state agenciescanhelp.They alsohaveavaluable presenceinChina,which canbeveryhelpful startingout. ‘‘Thosesupportsby themselvesaretotally useless,however,’’said Casey.‘‘Anindividual companytryingtobreak intoanewmarketor establishoperations elsewherehastodothe workitself–support, agencypresenceandeffort byabusinessneedtotie together.Chinawon’t workoutforyou otherwise.Youhavetodo itforyourself.Youhaveto bereally,really committed.’’ CaseysaidthatPCH plannedonremainingin Chinaandbuildingonits existingstructurethere. ‘‘Becausewe’reinaglobal market,beinginChinais veryadvantageous,’’he said.‘‘Werewefocused solelyonEuropeandthe US,wecouldprobablyfind abetterplacetobe.But we’recertainthatbeingin Chinaputsusinprime positionforbroader internationalgrowth,and sothat’swhereweare,and that’swherewe’regoingto be.’’ Firststepstotrading PCHfactory(above)and(below)PCHFulfilmentcentre HaoLiWenPartnersistheonlyChinese lawfirmwithanofficeinIreland. Weworkforlargefortune500 companiesaswellasSMEs. WeserveIrishcompanieswiththefollowingservices: . SettingupajointventureorWFOEinChina . M&AinChina . AlltypesofIP/technologyknowhowtransfer andlicencetoChina . DisputeResolutioninChina Formoredetails,pleasecheck www.haoliwen.com orcontact shellyxiong@haoliwen.com 00353851290777 EstablishedinNovember2000,promotinggreatereconomic, commercial,culturalandeducationaltieswithChina. Keybenefitstomembersinclude: . Uptodateinformationthroughanewwebsiteresourcecentre . KeycontactsinIrelandandChinatodevelopsuccessfullinks withChina . NetworkingopportunitieswithIrishandChinesebusinesses . Discountedandfreeeventsthroughouttheyear Newcultural/businesstrainingcoursestartsinApril Newmemberswelcomefromindividualmemberstocorporatemulti-nationals. info@irelandchina.orgwww.irelandchina.org OURPATRONS: 2 T HE S UNDAY B USINESS P OST APRIL12012
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